Wine storage of ageing type

ABSTRACT

A wine storage apparatus ( 1 ) having a white wine storage compartment ( 4 ) and a red wine storage compartment ( 5 ) for keeping the compartment temperature at a constant level suitable for preserving white wine and red wine, and a wine aging storage compartment ( 3 ). The temperature of the storage compartment ( 3 ) is repeatedly raised and lowered by a control apparatus ( 30 ) in accordance with a fixed variation pattern in a temperature band from 10° C. to 22° C. in a one-year cycle. It was confirmed that ideal aging of the wine is promoted when wine is stored in the storage compartment ( 3 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wine storage apparatus provided witha wine aging function.

BACKGROUND ART

Wine cellars currently on the market are refrigerators provided with afunction for preserving wine at a temperature and humidity set by theuser. It is commonly believed that wine is ideally stored at a constanttemperature of 13° C. to 14° C. and a constant humidity of about 65%.Therefore, a wine cellar is provided with a temperature control functionto prevent the temperature in a compartment from departing from the settemperature, and the temperature is controlled so that the maximum bandof fluctuation is 4° or less.

Apparatuses for cooling wine to an optimal drinking temperature of about10° C. are also known as wine cellars. Wine cellars have also beenproposed that are provided with both a storage compartment for storingwine over a long term at 13° C. to 14° C. and a storage compartment forcooling the wine to the optimal drinking temperature of about 10° C.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Wine is aged by oxidation and reduction, and a suitable amount of oxygenis required. Oxygen required for aging is provided by air circulatingthrough a cork that seals a mouth of a wine bottle.

However, there is no design in prior art for using a wine cellar oranother storage area provided with a temperature control mechanism toage wine. The present inventor varied the temperature in the wine cellaraccording to different variation patterns to investigate the agedcondition of wine, contradicting the widely held concept that thetemperature of a wine cellar should be kept as constant as possible. Asa result, it was discovered that aging by oxidation and reduction can bepromoted and wine can be ideally aged without causing the wine to spoiland decline.

The present invention was contrived based on this novel idea, and anobject thereof is to provide a wine storage apparatus that has an agingfunction.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a wine storage apparatusof the present invention has a wine storage compartment for storingwine, and

-   -   a temperature control device for controlling the temperature of        the wine storage compartment,    -   wherein the temperature control device repeatedly raises and        lowers the temperature in the compartment in accordance with a        preset cycle, a preset temperature band, and a preset variation        pattern.

Here, the shortest cycle is preferably four months, and in commonpractice the temperature is preferably varied with a cycle of one year.

The temperature band is preferably 4° or greater in a range from 8° C.to 25° C. Particularly preferred is a temperature band that is 8° C. orgreater in a range from 10° C. to 22° C.

It is also preferable to adopt the variation pattern in which thetemperature in the compartment is raised in a linear, curvilinear, orstepwise manner, and is lowered in a linear, curvilinear, or stepwisemanner.

Next, the wine storage apparatus of the present invention preferablyhas, in addition to the temperature control device, a humidity controldevice for keeping the humidity of the wine storage compartment at apreset value. In general, the humidity of the wine storage compartmentcan be kept at about 65% by the humidity control device.

To allow a user to age the wine to the desired condition, the apparatuspreferably has an input unit for setting at least one parameter selectedfrom the cycle, the temperature band, and the variation pattern carriedout by the temperature control device.

In addition to the above-described wine storage compartment, a secondwine storage compartment for cooling aged wine to an optimal drinkingtemperature is preferably provided. In this case, the temperature andhumidity of the second wine storage compartment can be kept constant bythe temperature control device.

Here, since the optimal drinking temperatures of white wine and red wineare slightly different, a white wine storage compartment for storingwhite wine, and a red wine storage compartment for storing red wine arepreferably prepared as the second wine storage compartment to allow thecompartments to be cooled by the temperature control device to thetemperatures suitable for the white wine and red wine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a wine storage apparatusaccording to the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a descriptive diagram showing the temperature variation in anaging wine storage compartment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Described hereinbelow is an embodiment of a wine storage apparatusaccording to the present invention.

(General Configuration)

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram showing a configuration ofa wine storage apparatus according to the present invention. A winestorage apparatus 1 has a box-shaped thermally insulated housing 2 inwhich doors 2 a to 2 c have been attached to a front side thereof. Theinterior of the housing 2 is partitioned into three compartments in avertical direction, and the lowest compartment is a wine aging storagecompartment 3, the compartment thereabove is a red wine storagecompartment 4, and the highest compartment is a white wine storagecompartment 5.

Sliding wine racks 6, for example, are housed in the storagecompartments 3 to 5, and a plurality of bottled wines 7 a to 7 c can bekept in a substantially horizontal orientation on the wine racks 6. Itshould be noted that the doors 2 a to 2 c can be independently openedand closed in correspondence with the storage compartments 3 to 5.

A control panel 6 is disposed in the front portion of the housing 2, andthe temperature and humidity of each of the storage compartments 3, 4,and 5 can be set and varied thereby. A variation pattern of thecompartment temperature, a variation band, and a variation cycle of thewine aging storage compartment 3 can also be set and varied. A displayunit for displaying the temperature and humidity of the storagecompartments 3 to 5, the temperature and humidity settings, and otherinformation is also disposed on the control panel 6.

The storage compartments 3 to 5 are provided with temperature controlmechanisms 11 to 13 for bringing the temperature in each compartment toa predetermined temperature by controlling the temperature of the airthat circulates through the compartments. The temperature in thetop-tier white wine storage compartment 5 and the mid-tier red winestorage compartment 4 can be selected from temperature settings thatrange from 5° C. to 20° C., and the white wine or the red wine can bestored at an optimal drinking temperatures thereof. The temperature inthe bottom-tier aging storage compartment 3 can be repeatedly raised andlowered in accordance with a preset cycle, a preset temperature band,and a preset variation pattern.

The temperature control mechanisms 11 to 13 are disposed inair-conditioned compartments 21 to 23 partitioned by partitioning platesbehind the storage compartments 3 to 5. The temperature controlmechanisms 11 to 13 are provided with evaporators (coolers) 11 a to 13 afor cooling the air taken in from the storage compartments 3 to 5through intake ports 15 a to 17 a formed in a lower end position of thepartitioning plates, heaters 11 b to 13 b for heating the air that haspassed through the evaporators 11 a to 13 a, and ventilation fans 11 cto 13 c whereby the air whose temperature has been controlled by theevaporators 11 a to 13 a and heaters 11 b to 13 b is blown to thestorage compartments 3 to 5 through blow ports 15 b to 17 b formed in anupper end of the partitioning plates 15 to 17.

The temperature control mechanisms 11 to 13 are provided with controlcircuits 11 e to 13 e, respectively, and are independently controlled.Also, the evaporators (coolers) 11 a to 13 a are connected to a commonrefrigerant circuit 26 provided with a common compressor 25 disposed ina lower end portion of the housing 2, a condenser, an expansion valve(not shown), and other components. Control mechanisms that use Peltierelements may naturally be used as the temperature control mechanisms 11to 13.

Next, humidifiers 27 a to 27 c are disposed as compartment humiditycontrol devices in the storage compartments 3 to 5. For example, thehumidity in the compartments may be kept at about 65%.

The wine storage apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is provided witha control apparatus 30 configured around a microcomputer. The controlapparatus 30 controls control circuits 12 e and 13 e of the temperaturecontrol mechanisms 12 and 13 on the basis of detection results oftemperature sensors 32 and 33 disposed inside the storage compartments 4and 5, and keeps the temperature of the storage compartments 4 and 5 ata set level. The control apparatus 30 has a timer function or a calendarfunction 34, controls control circuit 11 e of the temperature controlmechanism 11 on the basis of detection results of temperature sensor 31disposed inside the aging storage compartment 3, and varies thetemperature of the storage compartment 3 in accordance with the setvariation pattern.

(Temperature Control in the Aging Storage Compartment)

In the aging storage compartment 3 of the wine storage apparatus 1 thusconfigured, the compartment temperature is controlled by the controlapparatus 30 in the manner described below.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the temperature variation in the aging storagecompartment 3. In the present embodiment, the temperature variation bandis set to in a range of 10° C. to 22° C. via an operating unit, and thetemperature variation cycle is set to one year. The temperaturevariation pattern is set so that the temperature is kept at 10° C. fortwo months of January and February, is increased 3° per month with afixed gradient between the beginning of March to the last day of June,is kept at 22° C. for two months of July and August, and is reduced 3°per month with a fixed gradient between the beginning of September tothe last day of December.

Here, varying the temperature in short cycles should be avoided andshould involve at least three cycles per year, with each cycle lastingfour months or more. Semiannual or annual cycles may commonly beemployed. The temperature band is 12° in the range of 10° to 22° C., butit was confirmed that the wine can be suitably aged when the temperatureis varied by the temperature band of 8° or more within this range.

It should be noted that, depending on the type of wine, it is possibleto age the wine by varying the temperature in the aging storagecompartment 3 by the temperature band of at least 4° within a range of8° C. to 25° C.

It is also possible to adopt a sinusoidal pattern, for example, as thevariation pattern for the compartment temperature. In lieu thereof, itis possible to adopt a pattern wherein the temperature is raised orlowered in a stepwise fashion every month, for example, as shown by thebroken line in FIG. 2.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

In the aging storage compartment of the wine storage apparatus of thepresent invention, the temperature is repeatedly varied according to afixed cycle, a fixed temperature band, and a fixed variation pattern. Itwas confirmed that wine can be aged by oxidation in the aging storagecompartment by suitably combining these parameters.

In accordance with the present invention, ideal aging is made possibleby preserving the wine, which is different from common wine cellars forpreserving wine at a constant temperature so as to avoid spoilage.Hence, wine aged in accordance with the preferences of the user can beeasily obtained.

1. A wine storage apparatus comprising a wine storage compartment forstoring wine, and a temperature control device for controlling atemperature of the wine storage compartment, wherein the temperaturecontrol device repeatedly raises and lowers the temperature in thecompartment in accordance with a preset cycle, a preset temperatureband, and a preset variation pattern.
 2. The wine storage apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the shortest cycle is four months.
 3. Thewine storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cycle is oneyear.
 4. The wine storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thetemperature band is 4° or greater in a range from 8° C. to 25° C.
 5. Thewine storage apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the temperatureband is 8° or greater in a range from 10° C. to 22° C.
 6. The winestorage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the variation pattern isa pattern in which the temperature in the compartment is raised in alinear, curvilinear, or stepwise manner, and is lowered in a linear,curvilinear, or stepwise manner.
 7. The wine storage apparatus accordingto claim 1, comprising a humidity control device for keeping a humidityof the wine storage compartment at a preset value.
 8. The wine storageapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the humidity control devicekeeps the humidity of the wine storage compartment at about 65%.
 9. Thewine storage apparatus according to claim 1, comprising an input unitfor setting at least one setting selected from the cycle, thetemperature band, and the variation pattern carried out by thetemperature control device.
 10. The wine storage apparatus according toclaim 1, comprising a second wine storage compartment for storing wine,wherein the temperature control device keeps temperature and humidity ofthe second wine storage compartment constant.
 11. The wine storageapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second wine storagecompartment has a white wine storage compartment for storing white wineand a red wine storage compartment for storing red wine; and thetemperature control device keeps the white wine storage compartment andthe red wine storage compartment at different temperatures.
 12. The winestorage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cycle is six monthsor one year; the temperature band is 8° or greater in a range from 10°C. to 22° C.; and the variation pattern is a pattern in which thetemperature in the compartment is raised in a linear, curvilinear, orstepwise manner, and is lowered in a linear, curvilinear, or stepwisemanner.
 13. The wine storage apparatus according to claim 12, comprisinga humidity control device for keeping the humidity of the wine storagecompartment at about 65%.
 14. The wine storage apparatus according toclaim 13, comprising an input unit for setting at least one settingselected from the cycle, the temperature band, and the variation patterncarried out by the temperature control device.
 15. The wine storageapparatus according to claim 14, comprising a second wine storagecompartment for storing wine, wherein the temperature control devicekeeps temperature and humidity of the second wine storage compartmentconstant.
 16. The wine storage apparatus according to claim 15, whereinthe second wine storage compartment has a white wine storage compartmentfor storing white wine and a red wine storage compartment for storingred wine; and the temperature control device keeps the white winestorage compartment and the red wine storage compartment at differenttemperatures.